Summer

Chica has been pretty busy this summer. She has had several opportunities for swimming in the rivers around here, though I am still looking for more places. The Jockvale boat launch was a big disappointment. We like going to the Filtration plant dog park on the little island in the Ottawa River near Parkdale. There, she can run around, chase a ball and cool off in the river as well.

She had a sleep-over with Spice a couple of weeks ago. There were no rows. It is difficult to walk the two of them together since they go at such different paces (and directions - Spice likes to wander off the beaten path).

She is not seeing her friend Gorby much this summer as G. is getting quite frail and Chica is still rambunctious.

When we see Duke, the black lab, out in the yard, I take her over to him. Unfortunately, she wants to play with him and he just wants to play with his ball. Wanting attention, she begins to bark, and we have to leave.

She seems quite used to staying in the basement while I am at work. Mornings, I tell her to find her Kong and direct her to the basement stairs. She comes back with it proudly, usually dropping it just at the top of the stairs where it tumbles and falls back down the stairs again. I fill it, top it off with some peanut butter and put it in the freezer to solidify the p.b.

When I'm ready to leave, I get it out and she is right at my side. She rushes down the stairs and plunks herself on her bed to receive her Kong. I turn on the light and the TV and close the gate.

She has only escaped once and that was, I believe, because she was having a stomach upset and did not want to dirty her room. She dirtied the guest room instead. Luckily, it is a nice wood floor and easy to clean! On that occasion, she shredded a box that I was using to prop up the gate in the doorway.